Stewart, Ionescu Help Liberty Survive Storm Surge
NEW YORK-A game featuring five WNBA All-Stars lived up to its billing on Saturday. Fortunately for the hosting New York Liberty, theirs had just enough firepower to eke out a win in the final game at Barclays Center before the Association descends upon Las Vegas for the exhibition showcase next weekend.
Captain-to-be Breanna Stewart and her reserve Sabrina Ionescu helped the Liberty stave off Seattle by an 80-76 final in Brooklyn. Stewart once again haunted her original WNBA employers with 25 points while Ionescu scored 12 of her 18 tallies in the second half. New York (13-4) jumped out to an early 8-0 lead before Seattle crept back in and kept pace with them the rest of the way, primarily sustained by 19 points off the bench for former New Yorker Sami Whitcomb.
Saturday proved to be a roller-coaster day for Seattle (4-14), which will send two to Las Vegas' All-Star Game to play with Stewart's group, which also features Courtney Vandersloot. One, Jewell Loyd, struggled to the tune of a 3-of-17 outing from the field before leaving in the second half due to an apparent ankle injury. The other, Ezi Magbegor, was one of four Pacific Northwesterners to reach double-figures while rookie Dulcy Fankam-Mendjiadeu had 14 rebounds after entering the afternoon with 25 total.
New York and Seattle are due for one more Brooklyn battle on July 25. In the meantime, the Liberty's final game before the All-Star break lands on Wednesday when they travel for a matinee against the Indiana Fever (12 p.m. ET, YES)
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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